#6 Cristina & Maria Rosa – Founders of Wanahat, handcrafted hats with a story to tell

For the sixth episode of Meet the Makers podcast I had the pleasure to interview Cristina and Maria Rosa, founders of Wanahat, handcrafted Panama hats with a story to tell…

Cristina and Maria Rosa are both originally for Ecuador and living in Miami. They started the amazing project of working with artisans from Ecuador 7 years ago with the objective to promote the country they are from and to support this unique tradition. They Give awareness, they educate but also give back to the communities.

The Panama Hats comes from Ecuador where they are made with one of the finest palm: the toquilla palm and handmade by expert artisans.

For the little story the name of the hat does not comes from the country it is from but from the fact that the president Roosevelt took a picture wearing it while he was doing a visit for the construction of the canal in Panama.

This hat required a complex production process with at least 16 different steps and unique expertise.

“Wana” means weave in Ecuadorian indigenous language, the quechua. It is a story of legacy, tradition, know-how and humanity.

They will introduce themselves as well as their brand, explaining us how they started, made it grow, passing by all the production process and knowledge about the hats. They will also make us discover more about this beautiful country that is Ecuador finishing by some tips as an entrepreneur.